Chocolate applesauce cake

Monday is my and Ducks 7 year wedding anniversary. So, to celebrate, I made our favorite chocolate cake of all time. This recipe came from my grandmother on my Dad's side and was always his favorite cake as well. He gets so jealous when I make it because I live so far away he can't have any of our cake. The hardest part about this cake is making sure you don't over cook it. The cake is so dense that it keeps cooking for a good 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven, so it has to come out when it still hasn't quite finished cooking. My grandma swore you had to hand mix this cake. Feel free to do that if you want to, but my arms are weak, and this cake is super thick, so I'll use my mixer anyway.

Add the baking soda to the applesauce.

Mix well. It'll start to get all bubbly.

Place the butter in your mixer

Add the sugar

Mix together, but don't cream. It should look almost like pebbles or cottage cheese.

While the butter and sugar are mixing, add the cinnamon to the apple sauce mixture.

Add the clove

Add the vanilla. I love vanilla. The original recipe didn't call for it, but I love how it makes this cake taste.

Stir together. It'll be all bubbly and a nice color at this point

Add the cocoa to the sugar.

Now add the applesauce mixture.

Last add the flour

(If you want to add nuts do so now.)

Mix it together until combined, but not smooth. You want the batter to be a little lumpy. This is a super thick batter, it'll look almost like a cross between a cookie batter and a brownie batter. It also won't taste super sweet at this point, but don't worry, the awesome will come.

place in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes

Check the cake at 30 minutes by poking it with a tooth pick

(I used a skewer, it's basically the same thing right?)

Mine was not quite ready at 30 minutes, the batter was still shiny, so I cooked it for an additional 7 minutes.

this is what you want the batter to look like when the cake is ready to come out of the oven, kinda still doughy and lumpy, but not super shiny.

Set the cake on a rack to cool.

Once it is cool, frost it with a chocolate buttercream frosting. I have also been known to pour hot fudge over the cake, so it is a gooey mess.

I must have a piece...

So yummy!

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground clove

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans) optional

Mix soda and applesauce together in its own bowl. Place the butter in your mixer. Add the sugar. Mix together, but don't cream. While the butter and sugar are mixing, add the clove, cinnamon, and vanilla to the applesauce mixture. Stir together. Add the cocoa to the sugar. Add all of the applesauce mixture. Lastly add the flour. Mix it together until combined, but not smooth; you want the batter to be a little lumpy. Place in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Check the cake at 30 minutes by poking it with a tooth pick (or a skewer, or chopstick, whatever). The batter should be kinda still doughy and lumpy, but not super shiny. If it is still shiny cook an additional 5 to 7 minutes and check again. Set the cake on a rack to cool. Once cool frost with a chocolate buttercream frosting or a chocolate ganache. (Frosting recipe at the bottom of this post.)

chocolate frosting
1 stick softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
4 to 5 tbsp half and half or milk, I prefer half and half.

Cream butter, add powdered sugar and cocoa. Add vanilla. Slowly pour in half and half. If it starts to look to thin, add a little more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a little bit more half and half. Beat on high for about 5 minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl, until frosting is light and fluffy.